England will go into their European Championship defence full of confidence after beating Jamaica 7-0 on Sunday evening in their send-off friendly. The Lionesses have had highs and lows in the build-up to the tournament in Switzerland, with a win over Spain at Wembley in February showcasing their credentials before defeat to Belgium in April raised serious questions, but their final outing before Saturday's opening fixture against France was full of positives, with Ella Toone taking centre-back stage in a two-goal display.
There were just 10 minutes on the clock when the Manchester United star broke the deadlock with a sweet strike, seemingly setting the tone for a comfortable evening. There was a slight bump in the road not long after when Jamaica equalised through Kayla McKenna, but VAR intervened to rule it out and from there, England took firm control. Just past the half-hour mark, Jess Carter whipped in a fantastic cross to match Lucy Bronze's brilliant run and header, and Toone made it three in first-half stoppage time with a superb left-footed curler. It could've been more, too, with both Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp rattling the woodwork.
After the break, the positives only continued to come. Georgia Stanway got her name on the scoresheet as her encouraging return from injury took another step forward, Lauren James looked sharp in her first minutes for club or country since April and Russo profited from that when the Chelsea star set her up for England's fifth, meaning the Lionesses' No.9 heads off to the Euros with that goal-scoring feeling. There will be much tougher tests in Switzerland, starting next weekend in their first group stage game against France, but the European champions certainly head there with a spring in their step after this big win, which Aggie Beever-Jones and Beth Mead wrapped up late on to really put the gloss on things.
GOAL rates England's players from the King Power Stadium...
